Tim from Everyday Living asked me a question which inspired me to write a series of posts on
Meal andMenu planning for the family.
Here is the first of several post on meal and menu planning for your family.
Meal planning doesn’t need to be something you dread or don’t bother to do. Setting up a meal plan can save your family time and money.
First you need to write down a list of the foods/meals your family eats on a regular basis. If your family eats a lot of spaghetti or burritos you’ll need to always have the groceries in your pantry and refrigerator.
I prefer to write down a list of 6 meals a week and winging it one day a week. Some families go out to eat on weekends or the kids are not home, so this works for them. Once you decide on the meals your family likes you can write an in depth grocery list. Make sure you look in your refrigerator and pantry for groceries and spices. You don’t want to buy too many of something if it will not stay fresh.
I usually check my newspaper for the store ads and the coupons. I usually match up the coupons with the items for sale in the store ad For instance I went to the grocery store a couple of weeks ago and I found boneless skinless chicken breast on sale for $4.99 for a 3 pound bag. I bought 10 bags of it. I’m sure the clerk thought good god she sure likes chicken. 
I have a deep freeze in my kitchen so I’m able to stock up for things when they are on sale. I have 8 containers of peanut butter in my cabinet right now.
A while back I had 5 bottles of tomato ketchup in my pantry.
Stocking up on groceries does really save you some bucks. You might have to put out the money in one week to pick up the deals, but you will save money the next week. It all works out in the end. A well stocked pantry makes for a happy family. There’s nothing worse than going to an empty pantry when you are really hungry for something good.
Until the Next Post of this Series.
Check out my Series of MemesMarvelous Menu- Join the fun on Monday’s
Authors bio is coming up shortly. 
Thank you very much for the mention. I’ll start putting together a list of the meals I make. This seems like a very simple step, but I have never done it before.
We don’t get the paper, but I’ll start looking at the online ads for the grocery stores we use.
I was wondering, do you shop at Costco and if so, do you feel the savings is worth the $50.00 membership fee?
Thank you very much for this series. This is something I really need to do and this is helping me a lot
.-= Tim´s last blog ..Friday Fotos- 8-13 =-.
Tim,
I don’t have a Costco in my area. I used to have a membership at Sam’s Club. You have to figure out the price per product when you are buying something to figure out if it’s a deal or not. I noticed when I had the Sam’s membership that for the most part it was wasn’t worth buying in bulk. Storage area was an issue for me.
Nina
I found your article when I stopped by from Adgitize. I already follow some of your advice and was happy to discover some new techniques. Excellent article and I look forward to the rest of the series.
Jerri,
Be sure to sign-up for my subscribe button to receive by email. Thank you for the compliment.
Nina
Thanks for following my blog! Menu planning is a life saver. We came home from vacation and I only made it 3 days before I had to sit down and make a plan because I was lost without it. Looking forward to the rest of this series and your menu plans!
.-= Ginger´s last blog ..Julia Childs Birthday and menu plans =-.